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Versailles star Alexander Vlahos teases full-frontal nude scenes in series two

By Will Stroude

The second series of Versailles kicked off on BBC Two last night, and if show star Alexander Vlahos is to be believed, there’s very good reason indeed to stay tuned this season.

Vlahos, who plays French king Louis XIV’s brother Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, had his fair share of crowd-pleasing sex scenes in the first season of the raunchy period drama series, but in an interview with DigitalSpy the 28-year-old Welshman revealed that the nudity factor demands stepped up a peg for season two.

“In season one, I kept saying, ‘Why am I not naked?’ The women were always naked… and then in season two, I got my wish!” he revealed.

“There’s going to be a lot of naked men this time round. Full-frontal male nudity! I did try and go to the gym, a little bit…”

The first season of Versailles received a mixed responses from the critics and the show’s adult themes managed to incite the wrath of one Conservative MP before it had even hit screens, but Vlahos insisted the none of the nudity or sexual scenes feel “gratuituous.”

“It felt like a lot of people made up their minds about the show before they’d actually seen anything,” he said.
“I’m sort of bored of the response, because we’re so far from that now. I think our show’s incredibly tame compared to a lot of shows out there.

“Maybe it’s because it’s on the BBC? I don’t know. But hopefully people’s viewpoints are changing, and they should. It’s not gratuitous.”

Versailles continues next Friday at 6pm on BBC Two.

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